Petrotrin to assist with oil and gas leak

The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries has requested Petrotrin’s assistance to address an oil and gas emission emanating from “the Couva Platform” - an old oil-well in the Gulf of Paria.

The well is in an unlicensed area and not part of Petrotrin’s assets. It is located at Latitude 10 – 28.20 North; Longitude 061 – 32.90 West, which is approximately 4.5 nautical miles off the coast in the Orange Field area.

Members of the Ministry’s Petroleum Operations Division and the Contract Division responded to the reports of the leak on Wednesday 4 July, 2018 and are working closely with all the relevant agencies with the aim of finding a permanent solution. Petrotrin has also established an Incident Command Team that draws from personnel across its operations.

The Team held its first meeting yesterday afternoon to chart the way forward and the Coast Guard also conducted 2 surveillance visits of the affected area.The Environmental Management Authority and other state agencies have been informed and the Director of Maritime Services has issued an advisory, alerting marine craft operators that “extreme caution is advised and requesting that they maintain a distance of 5 nautical miles”.

The Ministry will provide further updates as information becomes available.